Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue
We examine the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of ZnO/graphitic carbon nitride g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> (g-CN) composite material for methylene blue (MB) degradation under visible-light irradiation (VLI). The polymeric g-CN materials were fabricated by the pyrolysis of urea...
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doaj-46a17e38418f40cf9cc3fb0df4d517712020-11-25T03:48:03ZengMDPI AGCoatings2079-64122020-05-011050050010.3390/coatings10050500Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene BlueRenathung C. Ngullie0Saleh O. Alaswad1Kandasamy Bhuvaneswari2Paramasivam Shanmugam3Thangavelu Pazhanivel4Prabhakarn Arunachalam5Department of Chemistry, St. Joseph University, Dimapur, Nagaland 797115, IndiaNuclear Science Research Institute (NSRI), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), P.O. Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi ArabiaSmart Materials Interface Laboratory, Department of Physics, Periyar University, Salem-636 011, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, St. Joseph University, Dimapur, Nagaland 797115, IndiaSmart Materials Interface Laboratory, Department of Physics, Periyar University, Salem-636 011, IndiaElectrochemistry Science Research Chair (ESRC), Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaWe examine the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of ZnO/graphitic carbon nitride g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> (g-CN) composite material for methylene blue (MB) degradation under visible-light irradiation (VLI). The polymeric g-CN materials were fabricated by the pyrolysis of urea and thiourea. More importantly, ZnO/g-CN nanostructured composites were fabricated by adding the different mounts (60, 65, 70, and 75 wt.%) of g-CN into ZnO via the simple hydrothermal process. Among fabricated composites, the 75% ZnO/g-CN nanocomposites displayed a superior PCA for MB degradation, which were ~three-fold an enhancement over the pure ZnO nanoparticles. The fabricated materials have been evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. More importantly, the photodegradation of MB could get 98% in ZnO/g-CN could be credited to efficient separation of photo-induced charge carriers between ZnO and g-CN. Also, the recycling efficiency of the as-prepared composites was studied for multiple cycles, which shows that the photocatalysts are stable and suitable to carry out photocatalytic degradation in the logistic mode. Additionally, the probable photocatalytic mechanism has also discussed. The synthetic procedure of ZnO/g-CN based materials can be used in numerous fields such as environmental and in energy storage applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/5/500ZnOcarbon nitrideZnO/carbon nitride nanocompositeshydrothermalphotocatalysts |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Renathung C. Ngullie Saleh O. Alaswad Kandasamy Bhuvaneswari Paramasivam Shanmugam Thangavelu Pazhanivel Prabhakarn Arunachalam |
spellingShingle |
Renathung C. Ngullie Saleh O. Alaswad Kandasamy Bhuvaneswari Paramasivam Shanmugam Thangavelu Pazhanivel Prabhakarn Arunachalam Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Coatings ZnO carbon nitride ZnO/carbon nitride nanocomposites hydrothermal photocatalysts |
author_facet |
Renathung C. Ngullie Saleh O. Alaswad Kandasamy Bhuvaneswari Paramasivam Shanmugam Thangavelu Pazhanivel Prabhakarn Arunachalam |
author_sort |
Renathung C. Ngullie |
title |
Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue |
title_short |
Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue |
title_full |
Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue |
title_fullStr |
Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue |
title_full_unstemmed |
Synthesis and Characterization of Efficient ZnO/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanocomposites Photocatalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue |
title_sort |
synthesis and characterization of efficient zno/g-c<sub>3</sub>n<sub>4</sub> nanocomposites photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Coatings |
issn |
2079-6412 |
publishDate |
2020-05-01 |
description |
We examine the photocatalytic activity (PCA) of ZnO/graphitic carbon nitride g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> (g-CN) composite material for methylene blue (MB) degradation under visible-light irradiation (VLI). The polymeric g-CN materials were fabricated by the pyrolysis of urea and thiourea. More importantly, ZnO/g-CN nanostructured composites were fabricated by adding the different mounts (60, 65, 70, and 75 wt.%) of g-CN into ZnO via the simple hydrothermal process. Among fabricated composites, the 75% ZnO/g-CN nanocomposites displayed a superior PCA for MB degradation, which were ~three-fold an enhancement over the pure ZnO nanoparticles. The fabricated materials have been evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. More importantly, the photodegradation of MB could get 98% in ZnO/g-CN could be credited to efficient separation of photo-induced charge carriers between ZnO and g-CN. Also, the recycling efficiency of the as-prepared composites was studied for multiple cycles, which shows that the photocatalysts are stable and suitable to carry out photocatalytic degradation in the logistic mode. Additionally, the probable photocatalytic mechanism has also discussed. The synthetic procedure of ZnO/g-CN based materials can be used in numerous fields such as environmental and in energy storage applications. |
topic |
ZnO carbon nitride ZnO/carbon nitride nanocomposites hydrothermal photocatalysts |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/5/500 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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1724500439661019136 |